04 Taurus Hood Latch---UPDATE

[Bart Sr.]

Could someone please help me with troubleshooting .The hood latch will not lock down.Only the safety hook is catching.

Thanx in advance.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Lubrication never hurts. Also, check to make sure that the cable is "returning" or going back to it's farthest position after you have let go of the release handle in the car. Push on the release handle to make sure it's moved all the way back.
If the hood was closing properly before this, it's almost got to be the cable holding the mechanism "open" a little at this time. Also, make sure you haven't left anything in the way that the hood is closing down upon. A wrench under a side of the hood will keep it from going down all the way. (Don't ask me how I know, okay?)

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Yup......poke the cable where you can see it by the latch a few times and spray it with some penetrant (I use sea foam deep creep). I have had that happen too. Another good place to check and lube is inside the car..... use a "soft touch" and see if the lever pulls back a bit w/o resistance.

 

[bassman284]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Also pull all the way back on the release handle to make sure the latch is open.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Also pull all the way back on the release handle to make sure the latch is open.

Just to add to this when the release handle is pulled you may have to manually open the latch.

 

[DJ]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

The primary latch will not lock into place if it is already in the closed position.

With the hood open, make sure the primary hood latch is in the open position. Once done, check the operation of the cable release. It proabably just needs to be freed up and lubricated.

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

Re: 04 Taurus Hood Latch

After spraying several times and sitting overnight my brain decided that the sudden failure was probably mechanical.After removing the latch assembly I saw the lock bracket return spring was broken.Three bucks at the hardware store and back in business.No more whining wife.